Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 17, 2018 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 0 0 0 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 0 Northern Harrier 0 0 0 Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 1 1 Cooper's Hawk 0 1 1 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 3 83 83 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 1 Golden Eagle 0 3 3 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 1 1 Prairie Falcon 0 0 0 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter 2 2 2 Unknown Buteo 0 3 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 5 95 95 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:15:00 Observation end time: 11:45:00 Total observation time: 3.5 hours Official Counter: Mitchell Blystone Observers: Visitors: A quite Saturday with a few hikers and bikers on the trail. I did have an interested women (Ally?) stop by to say that she reads the updates and is an avid bird watcher. Weather: Beautiful day with clear skies. There was a very consistent though light breeze coming from the east/southeast throughout the morning which gave the east side a very cold windchill. Raptor Observations: There was a flurry of active right after 9am when it seems the Locals and some migrants decided to take flight at the same time. The Accipiters moved very quickly and I spotted them right at or just North of the platform while the RTHs moved with purpose but didn't make it too difficult to spot them. The locals played to the east throughout the morning and at some points they were visible for 20+ minutes. Non-raptor Observations: A flock of Bluebirds was a nice highlight for the morning. There was a good amount of activity from the Robins, Scrub Jays, Magpies, and Chickadees who all seemed very busy. I am not 100% sure of this but out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a Rock Wren. Predictions: Hopefully a good mix of birds will start moving through. It seems that today's action was earlier in the day. Not sure if that'll be a theme. Additionally, today they preferred the east slope with little active on the western hills. Have fun! ======================================================================== Report submitted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies ([email protected]) Dinosaur Ridge - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies information may be found at: http://www.birdconservancy.org/ More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=123 Site Description: Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane, White-throated Swift, American White Pelican or Dusky Grouse. Birders are always welcome. The hawkwatch is generally staffed by volunteers from Bird Conservancy of the Rockies from about 9 AM to around 3 PM from March 1st to May 7th. Directions to site: >From exit 259 on I-70 towards Morrison, drive south under freeway and take left into first parking lot, the Stegosaurus lot. Follow small signs from the south side of lot to hawkwatch site. The hike starts heading east on an old two-track and quickly turns south onto a trail on the west side of the ridge. When the trail nears the top of the ridge, turn left, head through the gate, and walk to the clearly-visible, flat area at the crest of the ridge. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/fa035a4a376f9bc31b129f910214cc0b%40www.hawkcount.org. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
